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Pokémon 2012: Überload [PG-13]

"It's an ability modification orb. Entities use them for quick power boosts," explained the young woman seated opposite him, speaking in a detached tone. Her lips were moving, but her voice seemed to come from somewhere else, like an ethereal being was compelling her to speak. This was, in fact, the truth: Sue Cra was being directed by Arceus. "They're fatal to ordinary humans, but you, being a vassal of the Entity Deoxys, will gain special abilities on using them: this one confers upon you the ability to sense other Entities and their vassals."

"Ah. I see. And how exactly do I ... use it?"

Sue raised an eyebrow, as though it was obvious. "You swallow it, of course."

"Does it come in a cheese flavour?" Ben muttered, surveying it dispassionately. He looked up at her. "You know, when people save humanity from mass genocide by Pokemon, they usually aren't asked to eat meaty little orbs of ... stuff."

When Sue didn't reply, Ben put the orb in his mouth. It almost dissolved in his mouth, but remembering her instructions, he swallowed it. It was entirely flavourless, and its texture was soft and tender. He felt heat rise in his throat, like metaphysical bile, and then the moment passed. Suddenly, Ben felt ... aware. A sixth sense had awaked in him somewhere, and he could distinctly feel a sort of tug on his mind, directing him towards Sue. Of course - she was the vassal of Arceus, wasn't she?

"Huh," Ben said. "Wasn't that bad ..."

"You will find your host Entity, Deoxys, in the place you call the National Air and Space Museum," Sue said. "Now I must leave. I have been speaking to the other vassals as well, and being in too many places at once is a strain." And with that, she seemed to smudge into the landscape.

"Women, eh, Sebastian?" Ben had noticed his Aron crawl out of the backpack. "There one moment and gone the next ... It's even worse when they turn out to be the vassals of godly super-Pokemon. Come on, buddy. We need to get going." He walked away from the abandoned cafe, and looked out to the heavy downpour that had stormed the city of Washington, DC. "Don't suppose I could get a cab in this weather ..."

***

About half an hour later, Ben had successfully broken into the Air and Space Museum; high tech security locks and motion sensors were no match for an Aron that would eat anything if it was shiny and made of metal.

"Haven't been in here since I was in sixth grade," Ben commented, looking around. "Now, where - aahh!" Sebastian looked over in concern at his trainer, who had closed his eyes. Something was pulling at Ben's mind, an external force.

Ben realised what it meant. An Entity was close; more specifically, it was Deoxys. He shut his eyes and began walking. His mind gave him sight; he could actually feel the presence of Deoxys. A few seconds later, he found himself facing a blank wall. Before long, the wall seemed to ripple, and then it vanished entirely. In its place stood a being of red and green, a semi-humanoid. One limb was in the shape of an arm; where the other should have been, were instead two long intertwined tentacles. A purple crystal was inset in its chest, and it pulsed like a beating heart.

"I am Deoxys." The being didn't speak, having no mouth. It communicated telepathically. "Vassal, why have you come?"

"Lord Deoxys," Ben said, knowing instinctively what to say. "I seek your blessing and power to take on the Separatists."

"Very well," Deoxys replied, surprising Ben; he hadn't thought it was going to be this easy. Then Deoxys's black pupils seemed to shift, giving it the appearance of looking a little crafty, like it had something up its sleeve, and Ben immediately realised he had been right. "But first, a test of your power. Prove yourself to me, and I shall grant you my might."

"I'm not here for jokes, you know," Evelina said, eyeing the small, round orb in the woman who called herself Sue Cra's hand. "Is this really true?"

She didn't really know what had compelled her to come out all the way here to whatever this dark, damp alleyway was called - she didn't really care about its name, just the fact that she'd gone through this path the previous day due to it being a shortcut to her destination, according to her map. She could've just stayed back at the hotel instead of being out this late at night. There was no need to be caught up in this business, in all honestly. Frankly to say, she didn't give a damn if the Earth was to collapse upon itself thanks to a supernatural phenomenon or whatever. And she was going to return to Sinnoh on Christmas Eve, anyway... assuming that the hurricane didn't interrupt the flights, which Evelina highly doubted.*

To think about it, it was stupid of her parents to not cancel their trip to Washington D.C. Sure, they hadn't known that all those... weird stuff - waterfalls caving in, Pokémon out to kill each other, snowstorms in Hoenn - would happen - especially not the hurricane. Well, it was better than being stuck in the constant switch between sunshine and snow back in Snowpoint City, but it had still been a stupid idea to not cancel the trip entirely, 'amending the bond between us three' be damned (besides, she and her foster siblings had decidedly not spend much of their time in Washington D.C. together). Stupid trip. Stupid weather. Stupid blog. Stupid world.*

"This is the last time I will tell this to you again," 'Sue Cra' replied, in that rather disturbing detached voice of hers. "This orb is an ability modification orb. Entities use them for quick power boosts. They're fatal to ordinary humans, but you, being a vassal of the Entity Uxie, will gain special skills on using them: this one gives you the ability to sense other Entities and their vassals."

"Okay. Fine. And how do I use this thing?" Evelina said, as Sue handed the orb over to her. She tossed it up in the air, and swiftly caught it again, like a coin.*

"You swallow it, of course," Sue answered, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.*

"Oh, how could I have ever not realised that? Of course I swallow an orb to gain special powers!" Evelina replied in a sarcastic voice. She turned her attention back to the orb, which was now sitting patiently on the palm of her hand. You're risking a lot if you do swallow this, you know, a voice told her from the depth of her mind. Are you sure you really want to do this? Think about it carefully... this could be the end of your old life... forever. No going back. No mum and dad and Ian and Ella and all your friends. No archaeology. Nothing.

Oh, shut up, you, Evelina thought in response. It was true, though - she wasn't sure what she would be doing, let alone if she would ever be normal again. "Really, I doubt I'm up for the--" Evelina began to say, but something overtook her... a strange feeling... as if... ordering her to swallow the orb... without another word or thought, she quickly popped the orb into her mouth. She tasted virtually nothing, except for smooth texture; not hesitating any longer, she quickly swallowed.*

Evelina immediately felt something warm - even hot - in her throat, as if acid was rising from her stomach - but it was gone as soon as it came. However, she felt different from before, as if she had acquired a new sense. It was hard to describe, but it was still there.*

"You will find your host Entity, Uxie, in the place you call the Washington National Cathedral," Sue continued. "Now I must leave. I have been speaking to the other vassals as well, and being in too many places at once is a strain." And with that, Sue Cra began walking away, and soon, she was out of sight, having been obscured by the heavy downpour. "Wait!" Evelina yelled, only to be answered by the echoes of her own voice.*

A white light emerged from Evelina's shoulder bag, and her Weavile, Vera, materialized in front of her. "I've gotten into something big, haven't I?" Evelina sighed, looking up at the sky above her. It was a shade of dreary grey, with swirls of clouds hiding the dim light of the moon behind it. Vera did not reply, but only looked at the ground, a concerned look on her face.*

"So... Washington National Cathedral," she said, taking out her map. "You think there'll be cabs still around?"

~~~~~~~~~~~

Evelina looked around as she quietly walked through the Cathedral, Vera at her side, camera at the ready. It was a truly beautiful sight, what little of the moonlight there was streaming through the magnificent stained-glass windows, creating colourful shadows on the floor. There were flags everywhere, too, as if to greet her entrance. It had been a fairly easy task to slip through the security (not that there was much in the first place) - a bit of help from Vera had certainly been useful.*

"I am Uxie," a voice came out of the blue.*

Evelina screamed, almost slipping and falling to the floor. "A-are you U-Uxie?" she asked fearfully, trying to keep her composure.*

"That is correct," the voice replied, and suddenly, a yellow pixie-like creature appeared in front of her, unmistakably Uxie. She looked exactly as she appeared in pictures and books, with her eyes closed, as many legends told. Maybe the part about her having the ability to completely erase a person's memories was true after all (not that Evelina had ever doubted it in the first place). "Tell me, human - why are you here?"

I have no idea, was what she wanted to say, but she had already started speaking from instinct. "I seek your blessing and power to take on the Separationists," Evelina spoke in a calm, prepared way.*

Uxie did not reply, but instead seemed to be telepathically examining her. After a few uncomfortable silent seconds, Uxie finally replied, "A test of your skills and knowledge will be first required. Not everyone is worthy of being my Vassal."

"I'm ready for anything you have in store for me," Evelina answered, though in all honestly, she felt the opposite. But then again... how bad could this really be?

Ice was sitting down on the pier, having his Togepi Death in his arms. He was watching the moon's reflection on the ocean waters. It was close to the Washington Monument, which for soem ungodly reason one of the few places that wasn't a deluge. Sitting down next to him was a woman by the name of Sue Cra, which seems to be Arceus backwards. She was just sitting emotionless on the pier, but he could sense stain on her, maybe because of she was in multiple places at once. Ice really didn't care, and was listening to her telepathic nonsense she was dumping into his head. She had an orb in her hands, and then turned and offered it to him.

"Fine. You want me to swallow it, I will." Ice gave her a cold look and swiftly took the orb. He examined it, it was soft, shining, and smelled like the arctic. It was also cold to touch, maybe it was offering certain characteristics of this Pokemon called Regice. He put it to his lips, and put it in his mouth, swallowing. It left a chill down his throat as it traveled down his esophagus into his stomach. He tasted nothing, but it seemed to have awakened something inside of him. He looked up at the stars as heat came to his body, and gave a soft smile. He felt Sue talking to him again

"You seem to be one of the more co-operative people. Though, you don't give anything away, Vassal of Regice. So, why do you not take it with out hesitation? Aren't you afraid I'm deceiving you? That I could possible lead you to your doom?" She asked monotonously, almost in a robotic manner, but he felt her voice laced, even faintly, with concern. He just looked at her, and she seemed to understand his answer.

"I see then. You are a perfect match then. Though, tell me why you are afraid of death, or turning to dust?" She asked again in the same manner. She was testing him, it was obvious.

"I have nothing to live for in life, that is why. When Death dies, if he dies before me, I will be nothing. My only thing worth living for was taken away from me, but my mother left me something behind. f course, besides Dearth, I have to see that bastard Suicune. He thinks he can make it rain with no snow? That's just not right." Ice replied to her in a cold tone, but his last part was in a jokingly manner.

"Alright then. Regice is at the National Zoo. Try the Arrctic animals first." Sue replied to him before disappearing. Ice picked up Death in his arms, and started walking towards the zoo.

~~~

Ice was looking around the Zoo, which had practically no one in it. He did see a few people there, looking at the nocturnal animals despite the heavy deluge raining down onto them. He decided to check the Polar Bear exhibit first, but he didn't sense anything. He then checked at most of the other animal exhibits, but to know results. He decided that he should check the next most obvious place, the Penguin Exhibit.

Ice strolled over to the cage, where he saw penguins swimming around nonchalantly, despite it almost being a blizzard. It was odd, since this was the only place in the zoo snowing, and everything else was raining, so it must be the location. Though, Ice didn't see anything that could look like Regice, all he saw was a gigantic golem looking thing sitting in the middle of the attraction, with penguins sitting on it. Suddenly, when ice looked closer, he saw a giant yellow cross flash. He then felt a voice resonating in his head

"Finally you arrive. These penguins are annoying..." THe voice boomed as the golem started to stand up. It was made out of entirely pure ice, and had hulking crystals on it'd back.

"You're Regice, aren't you?" Ice asked, a little annoyed.

"That's correct, young Vassal. I find it ironic, a vassal of a vassal." Regice told him. "Though, tell me why you should be my vassal."

"I want to find Suicune, I don't care about humanity or reality. The Seperationists are only a mere obstacle in my way, but they do have Suicune in there ranks. I need to teach him a little lesson." Ice told Regice, who just, analyzed his words.

"I don't know why my master chose you at all, but, you're like me. I can respect that, but before I truly choose you, I need to see the full devotion to your cause." Regice told him, getting up. The penguins started chirping and moving out of the way."

"Fine, I don't care what it takes. I'd even shatter you if that's what needed. " Ice responded, Death jumping out infront of him.

The last order is hateful in its unnecessary clarity
'Tomorrow, your death is sealed
No matter how much you fight it'

"Whoa! Are you serious?!" Tyler said as he studied the orb that was presented to him.

Ever since his family moved to Washington, life has pretty much become the same routine every day. Wake up way too early in the morning, Go to school, go home, maybe hit on a few cute girl's on the way, put off doing homework for as long as possible, rinse, and repeat. It was boring. He missed Hoenn. Back in his hometown of Lillycove, there was always something to do. Wild Pokemon roamed free, there were trainers to battle, adventures to be had, and certainly much better weather than the downpour that was going on today. Here, there were only statues of old dead people, and decrepit old buildings to look at. Tyler never understood why Washington was such a major tourist destination, it was so boring. He does the exact same thing at school for free. Which is why he happily jumped at Sue Cra's phone call, and went in the pouring rain to this dark, damp, alleyway in the middle of the night. It almost seemed too good to be true, but who cares?! Finally, a little excitement in this boring place.

"Yes..." Sue said matter of factly. Her voice seemed unnatural, like she were a puppet, and someone else was speaking for her. "It's an Ability Modification Orb..."

But Tyler interrupted her before she could continue her explanation. "Yeah yeah, whatever." Tyler said while flicking his wrist dismissively. "When do those God-like powers come in?!"

Sue rolled her eyes. "I strongly suggest you to take this seriously! This situation is very grave, there's more at stake here than you know!" She was obviously annoyed by Tyler's impatience. "You swallow the orb. Upon doing so, you will gain the ability to sense other entities and their vassals."

Tyler nodded, but it was obvious he wasn't really listening to everything Sue was saying. "Uh-huh." After she said to swallow the orb, Tyler plugged his nose, put the orb in his mouth, then swallowed. For a moment, he felt a burning sensation in his throat, and he almost wanted to gag, then the feeling quickly passed. Tyler wasn't sure what it was, but something sure was different. He felt more aware of things. Almost like a sixth sense... or something.

"You will find your Host Entity, Rayquaza, in the place you call the Washington Monument. Now, I must leave. I have been speaking to the other Vassals, and appearing in too many places at once like this is a strain." And with that, Sue took off. She almost seemed to vanish under the pouring rain.

"Well, she was weird... Although, she was hot..." Tyler then unclipped a Pokeball from his belt, and released the Pokemon inside. "Swamptaro, come on out!"

"Marshtomp!" The Pokemon happily cried out as he appeared in a flash of white light. It was wet, and muddy, just the way he liked it. Swamptaro proceeded to splash around in a nearby muddy puddle.

"Hey boy!" Tyler said with a smile as he patted his Pokemon's head. "We got ourselves into something epic! Come on, we're goin' to the monument." And with that, Tyler ran off.

Swamptaro tilted his head, "Marsh?" then he sighed and took off after his trainer.

---

Due to his slow speed, by the time Swamptaro caught up with his trainer, he had already made it to his destination. The Monument was close to where they were, so it wasn't hard to find. It also stood out, as if a spotlight were shining over it. While the rest of the city was pouring rain, here the skies were perfectly clear and everything was dry.

"Something tells me Ray's at the top." Tyler said, pointing to the tip of the white pillar that was the Washington Monument. He had no idea how he knew this, it was just a feeling he had. It was hard to explain.

Together, Tyler and Swamptaro took an elevator to the top of the monument. When the elevator finally made it's way to the room at the top of the tower, Tyler ran out and shouted. "Yo Rayquaza! Come on out so I can get some god-like powers already!"

As if on cue, a huge, green, serpentine dragon flew in through the window, and appeared before the boy. "Well, aren't you a hotheaded fellow." The Dragon's words reasonated in Tyler's head, like telepathy. There was a slight growl to his voice. "Yes, I am Rayquaza. Now, tell me again why you have come here?"

But Tyler was not the least bit afraid. "Lord Rayquaza, I seek your blessing and power to take on the sepratists." He said calmly. The boy had no idea why he had said that, or how he even knew to say it. But somehow, that's what came out of his mouth.

"Much better." Rayquaza then examined the boy for a minute. "But first, you must prove yourself fit to be my vassal boy! A test of your worth is required."

A test?! I didn't come here to take a stinkin' test! I just want those damn powers already! But he knew that if he was going to have a chance at getting those powers, he'd have to do this. Tyler crossed his arms. "Ugh... Fine..." he mumbled. "I'll do it."

Sophia Larson
Vassal of Meloetta
A gas station on the outskirts of DC, near Virginia

"Um. What is this, exactly?" Sophia said coldly stared at the orb resting in the woman's hand as rain poured down on them. The woman standing in front of Sophia told her earlier she was Sue Cra, but was earlier known as Arceus. Sophia's brain was not quite sure where she was or how she got to that place, let alone what Sue Cra was talking about. But through the confused mists in her mind, she was able to keep a stern, straight face.

"My time is running out. You have to listen to me," Sue Cra said, sound coming out of her lips but not from her, "This orb is an ability modification orb. Entities use them for quick power boosts. They're fatal to ordinary humans, but you, being a vassal of the entity Meloetta, will gain special skills on using them: this one gives you the ability to sense other Entities and their vassals."

Sophia gingerly took the orb. "And what, exactly do I do with this?" she said rolling the meaty ball around in her hand.

"You swallow it, of course."

"Whatever you say, I guess," Sophia shrugged and threw the orb into her mouth and swallowed it without any forethought. It didn't taste like anything, but it felt smooth before slipping down her throat. Almost immediately she wished she hadn't. It felt like acid was rushing up from her stomach. I'm going to die here, aren't I? she thought to herself. But as soon as the burning sensation came, it left. As it left she felt something click- she didn't know what exactly, but inside her it felt as if something blocked inside her had opened up, like a sixth sense.

"You will find your host entity, Meloetta, at the Verzweiflung Café. You've been there before, but in case you've forgotten, you'll remember the way," Sue Cra said with no feeling in her voice. "Now I must leave. I have been speaking to the other vassals as well, and being in too many places at once is a strain," She said before drifting off into the pounding rain.

Sophia shook her head, her hair making water fly in every direction. "Why did I sign up for any of this?" she muttered to the rain, "I don't remember asking to help save the world."

---------------------

She started walking to the central district, filled with dark alleys. After a while she arrived in the garden of skyscrapers. She turned into one of the many small passageways, and kept walking until she faced the door to a tiny café. There was a small sign next to the door that said "The Verzweiflung Café" in faded and chipped orange paint. She pushed on the door and walked in.

"I remember this place," she said as she sat down at a table. "I came here after Taylon died..." she mumbled as she bowed her head in respect for her cousin. She missed Taylon. She needed Taylon. In her heart, it felt like Taylon was the only one who cared, the only one who might remember her if she died. But now Taylon was gone. And coming back to the café where she mourned his death made it hurt even worse, and made her feel more alone.

Suddenly, something caught her eye. A small pokemon, with a white face, and had what looked like flowing green hair, a black dress, and a microphone was sitting on the piano in the corner, swinging her skinny white legs back and forth. Sophia slowly walked up to the little pokemon. "Are... are you... Meloetta?"

The pokemon stopped her swinging motion and looked up at Sophia. "That I am," Meloetta said as she drifted off the piano. "And what are you doing here?"

"I seek your blessing and power to take on the Separationists," she said, surprised that she said it. She would never say that if it were up to her, but something made her say it.

Meloetta grinned. "Ooo, so you're the... the... uh... oh yeah, vassal Master was talking about! That's so cool! But you can't just be my vassal, I guess. You have to complete... um... a test of some sort. So I can see if you're worthy and stuff. Okay?"

Sophia sighed. She was the vassal of what acted like a six-year-old. "Fine, whatever you say..." she muttered.

Jolene stared at the woman standing in front of her with a skeptical face. It was raining hard outside, and she had had the sensibility to park somewhere with a roof. She leaned on the hood of her car in habit, and remained silent as she directed her gaze at the orb given to her. All this was going by so quickly in her head that she began to lose track of the time and how she had gotten there in the first place. Not even her craziest night out with her friends could compare to what was going on now, and she had already witnessed a lot of those.

"Is that enough proof for you to believe this? I am running out of time," Sue Cra, or rather Arceus, asked the other girl in a tone that seemed oddly dazed somehow, as if she herself wasn't saying it, but rather someone else. Jolene hesitated for a moment, then slowly nodded. "Good. Now, take the orb and swallow it. Before you ask, it has no taste whatsoever."

Why she would ever ask that, Jolene didn't know, but having been convinced that this wouldn't kill her at all, she took a chance and swallowed the tasteless sphere. A searing sensation spread through her insides, and she had the sudden urge to cough violently; however, as quickly as it came, it left. She blinked; suddenly, she felt somehow more alert after eating the orb; she reasoned it had already started to take effect.

"I must admit, you were one of the hardest to convince," Sue noted with a slight air of amusement. "Well, then, you will find your host entity, Dialga, in the place you call the National Museum of Natural History. You know the place, I assume."

"I know the way, yes," Jolene said, finally speaking up. The other woman nodded in approval, and disappeared; she had already said she was getting tired from appearing in multiple places. She stood alone in the empty parking lot now, the rain being the only audible sound. There was a flash of light; Liegen burst out of his Poke Ball, and looked up at his trainer, wide-eyed and trying to make sense of recent events. Vaguely, Jolene wondered just what she was walking into. What was the rest of her family doing as she made her pledge to save the world? She wished she could call them. The car gave a beep as she unlocked it and stepped inside.

"Come along now, Liegen," she told the Roselia, a small smile on her face. She took pride in making her sole Pokemon happy; this time was no exception. Liegen's face changed from confused to joyful as he jumped into the car. "Great, are you ready? Let's ride."

---

The museum was impossible to miss. The drive there was short, and Jolene had to keep the windshields constantly sliding because of the downfall. Thank goodness she still had gas in that even after the previous night, or she'd be miserable without an umbrella, walking in the rain like that. She parked her car again, and grimaced, realizing she would have to get wet, and began to think out a good way to get under a roof.

Liegen hopped out first, enjoying the rain on his body. Pointing his purple rose towards the entrance, he started running to it. Once he had reached the door, he waved at her proudly. Clutching the top of her head with one hand, Jolene then made a break for it, stopping at the front door and gasping for breath. A few moments later, she stopped and cautiously opened the door. Strange, she thought. The museum should be closed. Even then, she went inside. Intuition told her there was something awaiting her there.

Jolene dried her shoes on the mat before beginning to wander around the halls of the museums. She passed exhibits like the Western Cultures Hall and Insect Zoo, before she stopped at the Hall of Geology. There, standing in the middle of all the gems on display, was a massive indigo dragon. Several parts of its body, such as its face and feet, were covered in metallic parts. In its center was a single shining diamond, and Jolene had a feeling that this creature must be Dialga.

"H-how..." Jolene stammered, wanting to confirm her suspicions, her eyes widening at the sight of the temporal entity. "You're...?"

Liegen was tugging on her jeans now, completely and utterly terrified. Despite this, Jolene answered, "I wish to recieve your blessing and power to take on the Separatists." Almost immediately after she said this, she blinked, not intending to say that. It wouldn't matter; that would do enough, she assumed.

"You are the vassal, then. Just as I thought." Dialga nodded in understanding. "Tell me, are you a skeptic?"

The girl raised her eyebrow at the sudden question. "Yes, I am," she said slowly. "...Why?"

"That's one thing we have in common. Good, good." Dialga continued. "I'm sure you know where this is headed."

Of course Jolene knew what she meant; she had asked this of others many times before. "You want me to prove myself, don't you?"

“Ok. So Mrs. Cra, you want me to ingest this random orb, that I don’t know where it has been, and go on a mission to save the world.” Miles had an indifferent look on his face. He was trying not to tell this random woman, in the empty space of a bookstore, what he was really feeling. Sue Cra did not stagger with her answer. She just looked Miles up and down and responded, “Yes.”

Miles looked at the orb. He still couldn’t believe what this lady was telling him. He looked back at Sue Cra. “So you mean to tell me this is all real. That I am not on some prank show like prank my mom. No one is going to tell me that this was all a joke, and I swallowed a breath mint.”

“Yes child, this is all real. The choice is up to you whether you want to take this step or not. You are a vassal, so you have a set of responsibilities. However, we cannot force you to do anything that you don’t want to. However, let me tell you this, if you weren’t truly a vassal, you would die from ingesting that orb.”

Miles just looked at this woman like she was mental. If she was wrong, then there is a chance that he could die. He looked her up and down one more time. It seemed like she was serious. Plus, he might die from the hurricane anyways, so let’s save the world. He looked at the orb, and chugged.

“Very good young vassal. You will now gain the ability to see the other vassals, and powers will be unlocked for you along this journey. The world as we know it will be counting on you and the others. Don’t let us down.” Sue than began to falter, but she got a hold of herself. “Being in contact with you and the other vassals has drained my strength. However, let me give you a piece of information. You can find Ho-oh, your legendary, at the Lincoln Memorial. Go now. Fulfill your destiny. With that, this strange woman left.

“Well, that was weird,” Miles muttered. With that, he left the bookstore and went walking.

************************************************** ***
The weather was really bad outside. Because of this, Miles had to walk all the way there. No Taxi wanted to take him there in this storm. It was only raining badly until he made it to the bridge that led to the memorial. There, the water was overflowing, and Miles kept getting hit with monstrous waves. He gave credit to his years of playing in sports; without that, he wouldn’t have made it this far. His body was completely soaked, and his hair was a mess. It took him an hour and a half, but he made it to the memorial. It took him another three minutes to climb the steps. Sitting right next to Lincoln was a giant bird like creature whose feathers showed every color of the rainbow. So this is Ho-Oh, he thought.

“Well hello young Vassal. It is a pleasure to see you here.” Ho-oh eyed down Miles before she began speaking again. “I chose this place because of the similarities between Lincoln and myself. We both wanted to see the equal treatment of all people. Lincoln wanted it for the slaves, while I wanted it for pokemon. Lincoln’s dream has come true. However, mine have to not to fruition.”

Not knowhing what came over him, Miles said, "I wish to recieve your blessing and power to take on the Separatists."

Miles was about to say something else because he didn't know what just happened, but Ho-oh stopped him. “Ahh yes, I know what you come for. I know what you seek. Child, do you actually think it would be that easy. Think long and hard. Is this what you really want to do?” Miles stood back and thought. If he didn’t help, he probably would never be able to locate his real parents. Because of this, he nodded. “Very well then. I will give you my blessing.” Miles smiled. “But first, you must pass my test. You are a vassal of the great Ho-oh. I will not allow you to embarrass my name.”

I Really really hate test, is the thought that passed through Miles’ mind.

Deoxys waved a hand lazily, and all of a sudden the room tilted out of focus, as though someone had smudged it out. When it refocused, Ben was standing in a large circular arena, on a slab of floating ground. He looked up; his host Entity was hovering several feet above them.

"Your orders," Deoxys said, "are to defeat your opponent in battle."

An amorphous white orb appeared in front of Ben, and then it formed a small white humanoid, barely a foot tall. The Ralts tilted its green helmet forward questioningly, revealing two red horns embedded in the helmet.

"Alright then, go Sebastian!" The armoured dinosaur hopped out of Ben's backpack, and, lazily walking up to the Ralts, raised a stubby paw. Three tiny but sharp claws popped out, glowing brightly as Sebastian brought it down in a surprisingly fast Metal Claw attack. The Ralts squeaked and vanished.

Then the deluge began.

Seconds after the first was gone, another Ralts appeared. When Sebastian had dispatched of it with a Metal Claw again, two appeared. Then three more. Then five more - all in a few seconds. As Sebastian continued Clawing at them, Ben found himself knee-deep in tiny white humanoid Psychic-types. They were like a hydra; for every Ralts Sebastian defeated, three or four more appeared.

"Let's make this a little more ... interesting, shall we?" Deoxys muttered to itself, and then it outstretched a palm. Ben saw a small sphere appear in Deoxys' hand, which the alien Pokemon then threw into the ring. Immediately, the Ralts began to chew at it; those that did, began to glow brightly. Seconds later, the orb was gone - and there were four taller, elegant humanoids, looking like ballet dancers in white tutus, with long green stockings, green bangs of hair, and two red hairpins sticking out the side of their heads. Ben knew they were Kirlia, the evolved form of Ralts; the sphere was an ability modification orb, like the one he himself had ingested. Hmm ...

"Sebastian, change tactics! Go Headbutt!" Ben commanded. Obediently, the Aron lowered his head and charged through the waves of Ralts, knocking several out of his way, defeating them with one hit. One of the Kirlia, charging up a Confusion attack, was struck by Headbutt and the purple glow signifying a Confusion faded - Kirlia had flinched. Another Kirlia, however, raised a glowing purple hand, and Sebastian went flying, knocked over by a psychic force.

The little Aron got up, glaring vengefully, and then charged again, striking the Kirlia that used Confusion. Gleefully, several Ralts blocked its way, lining up for their immediate defeat-and-disintegration. However, nothing could stop Sebastian when he was determined, and he finally struck the Kirlia in the face.

Kirlia rose, looking angry - it had apparently gained some strength, not just evolving. With a flick of its hand, it levitated several Ralts which it then threw at Sebastian. The two duked it out, ignoring the rest of the Ralts. The other Kirlia, meanwhile, were beginning to glow as well. One turned into slim, green and white warlike Pokemon, with a large gladiator's helmet and bladed elbows - a Gallade, the form taken by male Kirlia when they evolved in the presence of a Dawn Stone. The other two turned into floating, feminine creatures, with a flowing white 'gown' and short green hair - Gardevoir, the 'usual' form of Ralts.

Sebastian, confronted by this threat, looked a little scared; these Pokemon seemed high-level to him.

However, the Gallade simply walked forward, and Sebastian quailed. Its claws glowing green, Gallade slashed down at Sebastian - the Aron avoided the first, but was struck by the second. Gallade struck again - and again.

Fury Cutter, Ben thought. Damn it! Doesn't look good right now ...

Gallade raised its arm for the final strike, when Sebastian finally keeled over, fainting. Satisfied, the Gallade saluted Deoxys, and then their surroundings began to fade again. Ben shut his eyes tightly; when he opened them, he was facing Deoxys in the Air and Space Museum again, and Sebastian was beside him, in the pink of health. What a terribly meaningless expression, Ben thought distractedly.

"Hmm ..." Deoxys' face was unreadable. "You do realise that the aim of the battle was not to win, but to show you that there will come undefeatable situations?"

"Uh, totally," Ben lied. He had a feeling it was a rhetorical question.

"There will be times you will want to give up." The Entity's eyes narrowed, giving it a look that said, I'm older than the earth you walk on. Be nice or else. "You can not give up. You play this game until you lose your life - or worse. Such are the rules. Now, are you sure you want to continue?"

Rayquaza waved his arm, and for a moment, the room went blurry. When everything came back into focus again Rayquaza was gone, Tyler and Swamptaro weren't in the Monument anymore. Instead, they appeared to be up in the sky, standing on a cloud. Where are we? Tyler thought as he looked around.

"Your orders, are to defeat your opponents in battle" Shouted Rayquaza's voice, though he was nowhere to be seen.

Three balls of light appeared before Tyler, and formed into Pokemon. The first ball became a small light blue snake with a white underbelly, a Dratini. The second, became a small light blue bird with cotton like wings, a Swablu. Finally, the last one became a small blue reptillian creature, a Bagon.

Tyler raised an eyebrow. "Seriously Ray? You expect me to fight these things?" Then, Tyler laughed "I was expecting more of a challenge. Ha! This'll be easy! Even if we are outnumbered. Swamptaro, hit 'em with an Ice Punch!" Tyler commanded while pointing at the Swablu.

"Marsh." The Marshtomp nodded, did as instructed. He charged his fist with an icy energy, then ran foward as fast as he could, and prepared to attack.

"Swablu!" The bird squealed, then, a wall of cotton appeared in front of it just as the Marshtomp was about to strike. Swamptaro punched the Cotton that was Guarding Swablu, leaving Swablu itself mostly unharmed.

"I wouldn't undermestimate these three if I were you boy!" Rayquaza said sternly from wherever he was.

Then, the Bagon small arm glowed with Dragon like energy, as it Clawed the Marshtomp before he had a chance to react. Then, moving at an Extremespeed, the Dratini took it's turn striking Swamptaro, which knocked him back.

"Stay strong buddy! You can beat these guys. Now, use Curse!"

"Marshtomp..." The Water type said weakly, then he crossed his hands, and began chanting.

"If that's the case, why don't we spice things up then?" Then, Orbs like the ones he had eaten earlier. The three Pokemon began chewing on them, Then, they bagan to change. Dratini became a longer, and darker blue snake, a Dragonair. Swablu became a much bigger bird, with it's whole body enveloped in cotton, an Altaria. And Bagon became some of creature encased in a White shell. A Shelgon.

"You're joking right? Well, whatever, keep going Swampy! Try to use Mud-Shot to slow down Dragonair and Shelgon. Then use another Ice Punch on Altaria."

"Marshstomp." Swamptaro had already finished it's Curse. It fired a stream of mud from it's at the two dragon's, which slowed them down, and damaged them a little, but it also made them angry. As Swamptaro went in for the Ice Punch against Altaria, Dragonair managed to Wrap it's long body around the Water type Pokemon, and stop it before it had the chance to strike. It squeezed him tightly, then threw it against the ground. Somehow, this hurt the Pokemon, despite being on a cloud.

"Come on buddy get up!" Tyler shouted. "You can do this!"

"Mar...shtomp..." Swamptaro said weakly as he stood up. He had already taken quite a beating.

Meanwhile, the Dragons appeared to be performing some kind of mysterious Dance. Then, Shelgon and Dragonair started to glow again. Dragonair became a large orange Dragon, a Dragonite. While Shelgon became a light blue Dragon with orange wings, a Salamence.

Tyler's jaw dropped. "Seriously?! Now that's just cheating! Ugh, whatever. Swamptaro hit 'em with everything you got! You can beat a few overgrown lizards!"

"MARSHTOMP!" Swamptaro shouted. Once again running towards the Dragons with an Ice Punch.

But the three Dragon's roared, then started to Outrage together. They were faster than Swamptaro, and proceeded to smack the poor Pokemon around before he had a chance to react. The poor Pokemon simply couldn't take the repeated assaults, and eventually was thrown backwards, and he fainted.

After that battle ended, the scene changed again. They returned to the Washington Monument. Rayquaza was once again in front of him, the three Dragons had vanished, and Swamptaro was right as rain.

Rayquaza's eyes narrowed. "The purpose of that battle was not to win. There will be situations that are unwinnable, there will be times where you will want to give up. You can't give up. You play untill you lose your life, or worse. That is the rules of this game. The survival of this planet depends on it. Are you sure you wish to continue?"

Bro, what kind of game of is that?! He thought. I can think of other games where I don't have to die! Still, Tyler wasn't about to give up after getting all the way here. He still wanted those powers, and like Ray said, the fate of the world was at stake here. The boy grinned, "Oh, totally!"

"Alright, Meloetta..." Sophia scowled, "Can we get on with this test?"

"Okay, fine, Miss Grouchy-face," Meloetta teased as she mimicked the frown on Sophia's face. This make Sophia scowl even more. Meloetta flew up and twired around mid-air. All Sophia heard was a simple melody, and her vision blurred into white. When color started appearing, she found herself what looked like a playroom. She was standing on a soft, pink surface, and there were igglybuff, cleffa, and skitty pokedolls everywhere. There were no walls, however, and it seemed to be surrounded by only the vastness of space. Meloetta was sitting playfully on one of the many pokedolls. "Ya ready? Better call out your pokemon!" Meloetta said delightedly.

Sophia smiled. This is exactly what she needed- a battle. She grabbed to pokeball off of her belt and threw it into midair. "Zac, it's playtime!" she exclaimed as the red and white ball opened, releasing a flash of white light. The light morphed into a growlithe, and when the light vanished the small, puppy-like pokemon took on its normal colors, red and black. "Growlithe!" Zac said with as much enthusiasm as his trainer. Zac loved it when his trainer smiled. He watched her put on a straight face so much, he occasionally forgot what Sophia's happy face looked like.

Meloetta returned the smile. "Okay! Let's go!" She said as she flew over three of the pokedolls; a skitty, an igglybuff, and a cleffa all grouped together. Suddenly, the three dolls started to shake- and then they started moving. First their arms, then their legs, and then the rest of their bodies. Only their eyes stayed stitched wide open, continually staring into one spot. The three pokedolls shambled into the middle of the room, and lined up. They turned and faced Zac and Sophia, and continued to stare at them. They looked frozen, as if they were still dolls.

"That's a bit... creepy," Sophia said with one eyebrow raised. Zac nodded in agreement. Sophia shook her head so that her boyish hair fell out of her eyes, and then with determination in her voice said, "'Kay, Zac, let's hit 'em with Crunch!" The puppy pokemon nodded, and ran at them as fast as he could. He charged at the igglybuff first, then chomping down on the pink ball of fluff. But as soon as he could, he tasted stuffing. He jumped back, and spit out what was in his mouth. He looked down at it, and was shocked at what he saw. A wet, dripping piece of pink fabric lied on the floor, with strands of white stuffing around it. He looked at the igglybuff, in the place where he bit. There was a good-sized chunk missing from the igglybuffs shoulder, and bits of the white fluff was sticking out. Zac and Sophia looked at each other. "Well, that didn't work..." Sophia said, taking a step back and looking at the igglybuff.

Meloetta laughed. "Let's have a little more fun, shall we?" she giggled. She flew across the room over the dolls. The igglybuff and cleffa started to glow pink, and change shape. The glow shattered, leaving skitty, jigglypuff, and clefairy lined up in the center, the jigglypuff's shoulder still missing a chunk of pink fabric.

"Well, then. If biting won't work, take down that skitty!" Sophia shouted, pointing at the skitty as if a lightning bolt will fire out of her finger and hit the skitty dead on. Zac nodded, and charged at the skitty. When his head met the fabric of the skitty's head, the weight pushed Zac into skitty, then throwing him back out as the fabric bounced into it's skitty shape. Zac hit the floor with so much force he struggled to get up, and with the recoil of take down struggled even more.

Meloetta laughed again. "Is it still child's play? Then let me make it harder!" Meloetta said as she threw three rocks into the air. Sophia started wracking her brain to remember what the rocks were, and stared at them intently. But she remembered a second too late- she could only whisper 'moonstone' before the rocks hit the pokedolls. All three dolls started to glow, changing shape again. When the glow finally shattered, it left three pokemon liked up in the center. Delcatty on the left, Clefable on the right, and Wigglytuff smack dab in the middle. A creepy grin appeared on their faces and they started to slowly stuble towards Zac.

Sophia shrugged. They're just fabric, right? she thought, So, if I have Zac use a fire attack, they should just burn to pieces, right? She grinned. This was the most fun she had in a while. "Zac! Time to bring out our trump card! Flamethrower!" She shouted, with more determination than ever. Zac howled to the stars above them, and blew massive flames out toward the advancing troops. But as the flames died out, her determination died too. Shuffling towards them were the three pokedolls, orange flames surrounding them but not hurting them.

"Aww, crap, Zac. We just created creepy-flaming-zobmie-pokedolls of doom!" Sophia said, almost jokingly. Then an idea dawned on her. Zac's ability was flash fire. He could absorb the fire. "Okay, Zac! Hang in there, and take down, one more time!" she said, her voice cracking. Zac rolled his eyes and charged again. But as he charged, the three pokedolls stopped, and out of their grinning mouths started to form a ball of energy. Zac, unfazed, jumped to tackle the Wigglytuff. But as he did, the three pokedolls fired a yellow beam and hit Zac head-on. Zac flew backwards, and landed on the ground, fainted and out of energy. The pokedolls stopped moving, staring coldly at nothing.

"No!" Sophia screamed running onto the field to hold her pokemon. But as she did, a familiar melody floated threw the air, and her vision went white again. When she opened her eyes, she was in the café, with Zac standing proudly beside her in perfect health. And Meloetta sitting on her head.

"You don't give up, do you?" Meloetta questioned. "The purpose of that battle was not to win. Not even close. There's gonna be times when you can't win, or when you want to give up. You can't give up. You have to show that determined spirit. You play untill you lose your life, or worse than that. That is the rule of the game. The game called saving the world. Do you really want to continue?"

Sophia sat down on a table, and put her face in her hands. Do I really want to do this? she thought. I might not come out of this alive. I might die. Then, in a moment of inspiration she put her hands down and stood up. But, I have to do this... for Taylon, who's world ended too soon. She took Meloetta off her head and put the legend on the table. "I'll do it, Meloetta. I have too."

Meloetta smiled. "Yay! Y'know, you looked really happy fighting that battle. So much better than that straight, frowny face."

Sophia rolled her eyes and scowled. "Don't get used to it."

Meloetta laughed with a glimmer in her eye. "Oh, but I will. But very well..."

"Precisely," Dialga finished. She looked around again. "This place is too unfitting for your test. Coincidentally, this test is a battle. Let's change this up a bit." The diamond on her chestplate gleamed and before Jolene knew it, they were no longer in the museum but rather a wide open area. Scattered along the marble floor were pillars that had already collapsed over time. Jolene had not battled since the last time Winfried challenged her during his visit, and that was a couple of weeks ago. The temporal diety's voice rang out through the battlefield as she stood on a floating platform above her. "So, what shall it be? We haven't got time to waste."

"Well," Jolene sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose, "all right. Liegen, you know what that means."

The rose Pokemon's eyes sparkled, and he let go of her pant leg, getting into a proud pose in front of her. His trainer watched, convincing herself that Liegen would not underestimate the opponent. She hoped her battle skills were not yet rusty as various debris cluttered together into three piles. Each of the mounds began to form a definite shape; one became the image of a Drilbur, one a Beldum, and the last one morphed into an Onix. They all looked menacing, looking down on the small Grass-type with cold stares.

"Ground, rock, and steel," murmured Jolene, searching in her mind for the properties of each of them. She remembered that Liegen's poison methods wouldn't work on the Beldum, and that his grass-type attacks would definitely hit the other two hard. She brightened slightly, saying, "That shouldn't be too hard, hm, Liegen?"

The Roselia nodded with a smug grin on his face, but began to shriek as the Drilbur slashed at him. He jumped on instinct into the air, sending the mole Pokemon crashing down into the ground. "Petal Dance while it's stunned!" exclaimed his trainer, and with a flourish, he began to spin rapidly as pink petals careened downwards from his violet and black roses. The Drilbur yelped in surprise, getting hit with the full deluge. Immediately the Beldum and the Onix came to assist their teammate, charging at the Roselia with high speeds. Liegen, however, managed to catch the Beldum out of the corner of his eye, and stopped the attack to perform an elaborate landing. He then looked toward the Onix and trapped it in a Leech Seed, beginning to siphon the life out of the large stone snake.

It was then that the Drilbur got up again, this time landing a clean hit with an unexpected Dig from below. Liegen was sent careening into the air, and once again the Beldum rammed into him, sending the rose Pokemon back into the marble platform below. Jolene's eyes widened as this happened, scanning the area to see if her Pokemon was alright. Sure enough, thanks to the Leech Seed, the Roselia's body was filled with energy as he got up again, this time obviously enraged at the embarrasment he was just put through.

Jolene, seeing this, smiled in relief. "How are we doing so far?"

"Pardon me, is this too easy for you?" Jolene swore she could see the Entity smirk slightly. "We'll see what happens when pressure is applied."

The Beldum was the only one that collapsed back into rubble. The pile wasn't even there for ten seconds before it reformed again, the Beldum seemingly having evolved into Metang. The other two Pokemon were surrounded with a cerulean glow, and the vines wrapping Onix were immediately severed. Unnerved, Jolene began to fumble with the bangles on her arms, pushing them up just to bring them down again. What could that have possibly done?

Her question was answered as Liegen leapt into the air, his black rose glowing orchid as he flipped and aimed a Poison Jab at the Drilbur that had started the chain of humiliation. In retaliation, the Drilbur came up to meet the attack, only to dodge it and place itself above Liegen before getting its hands ready for a Metal Claw. The Onix, to prevent any attempts to run, swept an Iron Tail across the ground. Metang completed the cornering method, heading straight towards him with a Zen Headbutt, and the girl began to panic.

"Petal Dance again!" The petals came out once more, stopping the opponents directly above and below her. The petals barely scratched a dent on the Metang, however, and it bashed into Liegen powerfully and speedily. Liegen screeched, once more being sent to the ground, but was determined to keep going. Slowly, he got up and crossed his arms in a "bring-it-on" gesture.

"Your Pokemon is full of itself," observed Dialga. "Can you both handle the hardest level, if this is so?"

The last round had been painful enough. The girl grimaced as this time, all three of them dissolved into pebbles. In their place were the final evolutions of each of the opponents: Steelix, Excadrill, and Metagross. All steel-types, which meant Poison Jab would do nothing anymore. Liegen was already beginning to show signs of exhaustion, as his breathing was heavy. Neither of the two would admit they were losing, of course.

"Grasswhistle," suggested Jolene after a second of thought. The battlefield was filled with a relaxing song, meant to put each of the three Pokemon to sleep. Yet, for some strange reason, they remained awake, unfazed. "What?!" she exclaimed. The attack was supposed to give Liegen an opening, so he could put a quick end to each of them without them ever waking up again. Excadrill's eyes narrowed before it seemingly flash-stepped behind Liegen, getting into a drill-like shape and ramming hard into Jolene's Pokemon. Drill Run, Jolene thought worriedly. Steelix gave no hesitation, immediately following the attack with its own Iron Tail.

"Roselia...!" Liegen gasped, charging up for one last Petal Dance in desperation. He fired it at the two, but once again, they used that strange flash-stepping method to easily get out of the way. Metagross was the only one remaining to attack, and it decided to finish the battered Roselia off with a Meteor Mash. Star particles emerged from the Metagross's hand as it punched, and as much as Jolene disliked to admit it, it was an impressive sight. By the time the Pokemon had finished their combination, Liegen was unconscious on the marble floor.

Jolene gasped. "Nein," she whispered, speedwalking up to her fainted Pokemon. As it had done before, the gem on Dialga's body shone, and they were back in the museum. She raised an eyebrow at an amused Dialga, bewildered at how Liegen had suddenly become perfectly fine, albeit sulking.

"A nice attempt," the temporal diety said simply, closing her eyes. "But don't worry. You were not meant to win that, by any means." Even though she said that, it did not help the Roselia's sour mood. Jolene listened on in the meanwhile. "Situations will come in which winning is impossible. You will feel the urge to give up, that is what I am certain of," Dialga continued. "But, as you are well aware, that doesn't fly well in our current situation. Give up, and the world goes to pieces; that is the basic outline of...oh...let's call this a game. A game called world-saving; that has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?"

She chuckled, opening her eyes. "Ah, pardon me. I seem to have gotten carried away. Well, then, do you want to go on with this, given what I have told you?"

Jolene thought about it. She had already done so much today. She couldn't just chicken out now, now could she? "Of course," she told the dragon calmly.

Evelina felt herself being shrouded in a blinding light; the next thing she knew, she was in a rectangular arena of some sort, resembling the Washington National Cathedral, but more suitable for battling. Sunlight - or at least, some kind of light - was streaming in from the stained-glass windows as if the clouds outside had vanished without a trace. Was she even still in Washington D.C., anyway?

"I'd appreciate it if you explained to me where the heck we are exactly," Evelina said in a bored voice, though her mind was in a state of panic right now - after all, she didn't even know where she was in the world, let alone if she could ever return. Obviously, she wasn't about to show this to Uxie, in case he - or she - or it - thought that sissies were decidedly not the best choice for a vassal.*

"Your task," Uxie began, ignoring Evelina's question, "is to have your Pokémon carry this ball--" a football (or soccer ball, as Americans called it) fell from the sky... ceiling... sky (let's go with that for a more dramatic effect)-- "to the net on the opposite side of the goal--" a football net fell from the sky as well-- "while protecting the ball and herself from the Pokémon I send out--" eleven Pokémon appeared, with three of them being Girafraig, four of them being Meditite, three of them being Bronzong, and one being a Gallade-- "in the space of fifteen minutes. All Pokémon are allowed to use whatever move they wish to; however, knocking someone out is illegal, and will count as a failure for you if you do so. You must also complete the challenge within the time limit - going over it with count as a failure too. Are you ready?"

So basically, this is Pokemon Football, without the foot part? Evelina thought, surveying the arena. I thought I would get a Pokémon battle instead of... this, but anyway - it doesn't matter. I'll need to focus more on having Vera defend herself rather than attack. Cool. "Ready," she called out. Uxie nodded, and Vera ran over to the starting line, ball in hand, a confident grin on her face. She turned and gave a thumbs-up and a wink to Evelina, who smiled back in return.*

"Then..." Uxie murmured, as her Pokémon went into their starting positions. "Very well. Let us start."

As if on cue, a whistling sound came from above, and the Pokémon immediately started to move, with the Meditite*moving ahead towards Vera. "Agility!" Evelina yelled. Vera put her arms behind her back, making herself like an arrow flying through the air, and her body became more swift and agile; she sped through the Metitite with ease, who looked behind them in amazement. Uxie, however, merely smirked.

"Formation B," Uxie ordered, raising her left arm. At once the Girafraig dashed towards Vera, their movements just as fast as hers, and began running around her in a circle, as if to trap her within it. Soon they were just a blur; Vera looked around her, desperately trying to find an opening that could lead her out. The Girafraig, however, began to close into Vera, and she could see that if they came any closer, she would have the ball stolen from her.*

"Vera, use Ice Punch to--" however, Evelina was cut short, as one of the Girafraig's tail suddenly snatched Vera's ball away, stealing it from her possession. That was Thief, Evelina thought, astonished. Girafraig can't learn Thief naturally; Uxie must have taught it using a different method. The other Pokémon probably know moves that they can't learn in the wild, too... I've got to be careful. The circle of Girafraig dissipated, and the Girafraig which had stolen the ball, using its psychic powers, passed the ball to a nearby Meditite. Vera rushed over to it, though by that time the effects of Agility had worn off. The two of them stood facing each other; Vera had an irritated frown on her face, while the Meditite remained expressionless.*

After several tense seconds, the Meditite turned around; Vera immediately mirrored its movements, and soon the two were locked in a battle for possession of the ball, even though neither dared to use any attacks. Both moved with great speed and accuracy, each step and turn a careful yet effective move.*Hang in there, Vera...! Evelina thought, clenching her fists.*

"Drain--" Uxie began.*

"Now!" Evelina commanded.*

"Detect!" Uxie continued, a sneer on her face. Crap! Evelina thought, as the Meditite teleported a metre away, letting Vera slash at the empty space in front of her, and threw the ball to another Girafraig, which then passed it to a Bronzong.*

As soon as the Bronzong caught the ball, Vera enveloped her claws in a dark aura, darkening the surrounding area as if it was night, and slashed her opponent, making it drop the ball. Vera quickly snatched it up and started to run to the goal.*

"Formation D," Uxie said, in a surprisingly calm voice.*

All four Meditite and all three Bronzong ran towards Vera and surrounded her yet again. Crap! Evelina thought, as they began to close around Vera and pushing her away from the goal. How the heck do I get out of this one? I can't see any openings... Unless...!*

"Up! Up!" Evelina yelled, her brain lighting up. "Jump up into the air! That's the only way out!"

Vera leaped into the air, the ball still clutched safely within her hands. A Bronzong instantly followed her; however, she quickly coated her fist in ice and punched it square in the face, sending it flying backwards. Vera landed, albeit slightly clumsily, and continued to dash towards the goal, which was being protected by the Gallade.*

"Throw it now!" Evelina commanded, once Vera came near enough to the goal, and Vera hurled the ball at it.*

"Formation A!" Uxie said, smirking yet again. All of the Bronzong promptly glided to the goal, and put up a full set of Barriers in front of it. The ball hit them, only to bounce off harmlessly, and come to a stop at a Medicham's feet, which picked it up and sneered at Vera.*

"This is harder than I thought it would be," Evelina sighed.*

During the next ten minutes, the ball weaved in and out of Vera's possession; Uxie ordered tactic after tactic, move after move, formation after formation, and though Evelina was able to find ways around some of them, with breaking through those tactics getting easier as time went by, but Uxie's well-coordinated and innovated plays made sure that her team was able to keep possession of the ball for long periods of time - for example, one technique she used to protect the goal was having the Gallade use the move Helping Hand to generate a pair of massive hands to stop the ball from entering the goal. And of course, there was the matter of being careful not to have Vera use so much power that she knocked anyone out - she had to find the right balance between attacking and, well, not attacking. And before this starts to sound like a half-time summary of a proper football match, let us move on to the climax of the battle.*

"One minute left," Uxie said. Despite looking very calm and composed on the outside, she was, in reality, feeling quite... disappointed. She had hoped that this human girl could be her vassal, but it seemed that she didn't have the skills and wits to become so. And she had seemed to be such a bright and clever person, too. She would've been a nice friend to have.*

Vera was a few metres away from the goal yet again, with the ball clutched in her hands. "Technique A," Uxie ordered, and the Gallade summoned his pair of massive hands from thin air yet again.*

"Hyahhhh!" Vera did as she was told, and threw the ball up into the air, following it by leaping up herself, and then she coated her fist in ice; she concentrated as much power as she could into her icy fist, and lugged a powerful punch at the ball in the direction of the goal, also covering it in ice in the process. Above them, Uxie smiled with satisfaction.*

The now-frozen ball sped towards the goal; the Gallade put up his Helping Hands in front of him, only for the ball to slide over it and launch straight into the goal. "Success!" Evelina exclaimed, and ran over to Vera to give her a high-five.*

"I'm surprised that you took this long," Uxie commented in a bored voice, though there was the trace of a smile on her lips. "But I'm glad you did in the end, anyway. You showed me that you have both intelligence and imagination. I must congratulate you on that.*

"No problem," Evelina replied, folding her arms, though she was also smiling proudly. "So, judging from everything that happened... this isn't just a game?"

"No, it isn't," Uxie answered, now more serious than ever. "Even though this may sound very... cliché, the fate of the world may literally rest in your, and all the other vassals', hands. This is a very serious matter. You are risking your life by agreeing to be my vassal. Are you sure you want to take this path?"

"Then that's that," Uxie said, snapping her fingers; within seconds, they were back in the cathedral, the grey clouds having returned to the skies outside. "Oh, and, by the way, I have one thing to ask you..."

"Yes?"

"Do you like puzzles?"

"Uh, I guess... why?"

"Oh, just making sure that you'll be able to stand my... daily puzzles."

"Your what?"

"You'll find out soon enough what I mean by that," Uxie said, giggling.*

Miles looked up at the great rainbow bird in front of him. Ho-oh was about to give him a test. Hopefully, it wouldn’t be anything too hard. Miles said, “So what is going to happen in this test?”

Ho-oh responded saying, “This test is a test of will. This is going to be a long arduous journey. I do not want my vassal holding back the abilities of others. You ready?” Miles didn’t have time to respond to her question, for Ho-oh had lifted her wings into the air. At this time, eight fires spouted out from along the Lincoln Memorial. One behind Miles, one behind Lincoln, at the direct left and right side of the room, as well as one at each corner of the room. Even though there were fires touching everything, they were not burning anything. These fires seemed different. It seemed that these were special flames. The fires continued upward and converged on the top most part of the room. At this moment, a bright light was shown throughout the room. At this time, Miles turned his head back to avoid this bright light. When he opened his eyes, he was in a different room. This place was larger than the Lincoln Memorial, so he guessed they must have moved. Every place in the room seemed to be on fire. Yet, Miles wasn’t hot or burning. It just felt like a normal day.

“Child, what you are seeing now are the effects of my Sacred Fire. I, Ho-oh, am the master of all the flames of the world. Every pokemon that breaths fire is second rate compared to me. This Sacred Fire, I am able to manipulate to where it only burns certain things. I can create to burn, or just be seen. You, being my vassal, will represent the fire in its entirety. Do you think you can do it? This is the final chance to turn back before I begin this test.”

Miles was still in awe about this fire. It was so powerful, but so calm as well. Looking back at Ho-oh, he said, “Let’s get started. Every second wasted is another one in which the world will be destroyed.”

Ho-Oh gave off a smile. With a wave of her wing, six pokemon appeared. There were two Charmanders, Cyndaquils, and Torchics. When all the pokemon appeared, they took a defensive stance against Miles. At this time, Miles pulled a pokeball off his necklace and threw it saying, “It’s time to play Jacob.” Out of the pokeball came a pokemon that was dark as the night sky. Around his ears and tail were yellow rings that glowed at certain times. There was also a circle that was in the middle of his head the glowed at the same time.

Awe, so if he has an Umbreon, he must treat his pokemon with some respect , thought Ho-oh. “Ok, in this test, your objective is just to have Umbreon lay a hand on me. You have a twenty minute time limit. Failure to touch me is failure of the test. Do you understand?” Miles and Jacob nodded. “Very well. Begin.”

At this statement, all three pokemon began charging up fire attacks. They were all very weak, and separated into weak embers upon approaching Jacob.

“Ok Jacob, use Light Screen.” With that, a yellow bubble like shield formed around Jacob, and he began all the attacks were deflected. “Psychic.” With this command, all of his body glowed a blue tone. He picked up all three baby pokemon. At this time, he walked across the room. Passing the baby pokemon, he walked straight towards Ho-oh who sat on the opposite side of the room. When he was only ten yards away, sacred flames spouted straight up blocking his path. At this time, Jacob lost his Psychic concentration and was sent flying. He didn’t take any damage because of Light Screen, but it was powerful enough to break the entire shield.

“Hm. That was a good effort, but what made you think that I wouldn’t be participating?”

Miles looked dumbfounded. How the hell was he going to beat some million year old leader of fire pokemon. He was only seventeen for Arceus’s sake.

Ho-o laughed and said, “So. Why don’t we spice this thing up a bit.” Before he knew it, little yellow pebble like orbs began to float down to all the baby pokemon. They seemed familiar. Then Miles remembered these were the same ones he had taken in that bookstore which could only mean……

At that instance all the pokemon began to glow. Miles’s eyes widened. These pokemon didn’t stop at the second stage, but continued onto their third stage. In one side stood two dragon like pokemon. With thorn like things protruding out of their heads, these Charizards were truly menacing. In the middle were to volcano like pokemon with fire protruding from their backs and around their necks. These Typhlosion’s seemed so calm like. To their left were two fighting type pokemon who looked eager to take down Umbreon. These Blazkien would be the most dangerous to Jacob.

Without warning, The Blazkien disappeared and reappeared high above Umbreon. They were attempting to use this height to perform a powerful kick against the pokemon. “Umbreon, use reflect.” Doing it right it the nick of time, the Blazkiens both hit the barrier and grunted in pain. However, this gave time for one of the typhlosions to prepare an eruption attack. It would take time before Jacob could perform another barrier move, so Miles ordered him to dodge. After doing so, the other Typhlosion came behind Jacob and puched the barrier with a thunder like attack. This sent the barrier with Jacob inside it flying into the air.

When reaching his climax height stones formed around Jacob and attacked the barrier. Jacob, no longer to hold it, just let it brake. At this time, one of the Charizards flew at him, grabbed him, and sent him up into the air. He flew around in a circle, like going around a moon, and then started heading towards the ground. This hit was going to hurt unless….

“Jacob, Psychic.” Jacob did as told, and he with the Charicard stopped in mid-air. This only halted the Charizard for a few seconds. He broke free of his encasement, and threw Jacob into the ground. Another set of stones circles around Jacob, and attacked him before he had time to recover. A dust cloud formed, and no one could see what was going on. Yet, Miles knew that would defeat Jacob. “Moonlight.” This dust cloud would give Jacob some time to recover. After it cleared, Jacob finished using his move. He looked hurt but was still ok. One typholsion began charging up an attack. Little white dots began circling him. Before he was finished Miles said, “Jacob hide.”

With this, Jacob became hidden from everyone’s view. This was a combo that he and Jacob had constantly worked on. Jacob knew the moves, so there was no point in Miles telling him what to do.

After a minute hidden, each pokemon became engulfed in a blue like substance. They couldn’t move on their own freewill. After two minutes each pokemon was binded standing back to back. They formed a circle with an opening coming in the middle. Out of that opening began to spew a purple like gas. At this time, a Charizard was able to break out of the psychic, but it was too late. The toxic gas had overtaken them, and each pokemon began to have coughing fits. Still at this time, Jacob didn’t become visible.

“How ingenious,” stated Ho-oh. However, at the same time, she swung her wing, hitting Jacob mid-air, and sent him flying across the room behind Miles. “The only problem, that last part was too predictable.” Having not had a shield, and still being wounded from earlier, Umbreon struggled to get off the ground. Miles looked back. All the pokemon, including Ho-oh were charging up flame like attacks. Unlike earlier, these would be extremely dangerous to the weakened Umbreon. Miles knew it was too late to stop the attack, and Umbreon would be too hurt after this to do much of anything. Because of this, Miles did was any other caring trainer would.

He ran towards Umbreon, and put the wounded pokemon in his arms. When he had a grip on Jacob, seven flamethrowers came straight for him. This is going to hurt if I live, Miles thought.

Before the attacks hit him, a Sacred flame came between him and the attacks. Miles turned around and looked shocked. It had protected him from an onslaught of fire attacks. Then, he had to turn his head again to avoid this new light. When he opened his eyes, he and Jacob were back in the Lincoln Memorial. A flash of lightning happened right outside. Miles turned to look at Ho-oh, was again sitting next to the statue.

“I truly adore your love for your pokemon. It is bonds like this that I want the world to embrace. If I could judge you only on that bond, I would pass you. However, you technically failed this exam.”

Miles looked at Ho-oh. Wait. “Excuse my ignorance. But what do you mean by technically.”

“Well,” Ho-oh began, “Umbreon physically did touch me with one of his paws. However, it wasn’t due to you. It was actually do to my wing attack that you passed this section of the exam.”

“We passed.” Miles and Jacob smiled at each other. “WE PASSED!!! Wait, what do you mean by section.”

“Come on child, you didn’t think that was all you needed to do, did you?”

"It appears," the humanoid alien observed, "that we are short on time. The Separatists have already discovered that we have made a move against them, by summoning you. The war will surely escalate. Your test will have to be out on the battlefield."

Deoxys began to shimmer, its outline growing hazy, its voice faint. "I am going to dissipate myself into the material that makes all Entities, cosmic dust. Inhale part of it, and hold your hand out into what remains. You will gain powers granted by me, as well as a physical manifestation of my abilities." With that, it seemed to crumble apart like a sand castle stomped on. Tiny, glittering particles that shone brilliantly in sunlight floated where it once was, unaffected by the force of gravity.

Ben leaned forwards, and breathed in deeply, closing his eyes. The dust was odourless but not unpleasant, and made him heady. He felt like someone tasting his first bite of chocolate, if it was the finest Swiss dark mankind had to offer. Giddy with the high it gave him, Ben had to force himself backwards, and then held out his right hand into the cloud of cosmic dust. It glowed brightly, forcing him to shut his eyes; when he opened them once more, he saw a glove on his hand.

The glove consisted of a thick plate of armour, red as Deoxys' skin in colour. In it was inset a vibrating purple crystal identical to the one on Deoxys' chest, protected by a glass shield. The armour protected the back of his hand and his palm, covering a layer of soft, turquoise green leather that stretched over his fingers. The leather spread over his wrist as well. On examining his forearm, Ben found that it finally branched into a sort of web of small blue-green veins, fused into his skin and ending at his elbow.

In his mind, he knew instinctively that this glove combined Deoxys' powers together. It was swift and light, and yet it would guard your entire arm from weak attacks. Any punch he landed would be much more powerful than it would normally be. And it channeled Deoxys' Psychic side, allowing him to imbue any object he struck with psychic waves.

"Hmm ..." Ben murmured. "This is definitely going to be useful."

Two figures materialised in front of him, a phantom vision. One was Deoxys, the other Sue Cra.

Deoxys did his telepathic thing again. "Nearby, you will find Separatist agents, wild Pokemon acting under the influence of Darkrai. They are possessed and not our enemies. You'll have to snap them out of it by either defeating or capturing them. Advance!" He too disappeared.

"Now, for the second test, you shall..." Rayquaza began, but then paused for a while.

Tyler crossed his arms, and tapped his foot impatiently. "Well, what is it?! Are you trying to pause for dramatic effect or somethin'?"

"No, we're running out of time! The Separatists have already discovered we're on to 'em! They're on their way."

"Well, maybe if you didn't waste so much making me fight hacked Pokemon, and give me those powers already, we'd have kicked their asses by now." Tyler retorted.

Rayquaza sneered at his Vassal. "Don't test me boy..." Rayquaza's body started to shimmer "If we want to deal with this problem quickly, we'll have to forgo the tests. I am going to turn myself into cosmic dust. Inhale part of it, and hold your hands out into what remains. You will gain powers granted by me, as well as a physical manifestation of my abilities."

"Finally!" Then, Tyler's eyes widened when he heard what Rayquaza told him to do. "Wait, you want me to do what?!"

And with that, Rayquaza exploded like an impressive fireworks display, and left behind particles of green dust.

Tyler sighed, then leaned foward and breathed in the cosmic dust as he had been instructed. The sensation that followed was actually more pleasant than Tyler was expecting. He began to feel lightheaded, like he was floating despite his feet being firmly on the ground. "Whoa! This is like... Trippy!" He said giddily. He even giggled a little bit.

Swamptaro just tilted his head, and stared at his trainer in confusion. "Marshtomp?"

Then, Tyler took a step back, and put both his hands into the cloud of dust. It glowed brightly, causing Tyler to squint from the intensity of it. When the light faded, two green gauntlets with yellow ring-like symbols ran across the length of them. appeared on his hands. They looked as if they were made from Rayquaza's scales.

Instinctively, Tyler flexed his gloved hand, and a set of razor sharp energy claws unfurled from each of the finger tips. "Awesome!" He did the same with the other one. "Yeah, I can totally do some damage with these bad boys. No one's gonna mess with me."

Then, two ghost like figures appeared in front of him. One was Rayquaza, the other was Sue Cra.

"Hey Susie, I knew you'd come back, they always do. Most chicks can't get enough of me." Tyler gave her a thumbs up, and grined smugly.

Tyler rolled his eyes. "Pfft, oh stop playing hard to get, it ain't workin'." He turned to Rayquaza. "Is she always like this?"

"Not usually, but these are rather grave times..." Rayquaza said with a completely deadpan tone. He wasn't amused by Tyler's antics either. "Nearby, you will find Separatist agents, wild Pokemon being controlled by Darkrai. They are not themselves, so don't hurt them too much. You'll have to snap them out of it by either defeating or capturing them. Now go, and don't disappoint me..." Rayquaza growled before he too disappeared.

"Whatever..." Tyler shrugged his shoulders. "There's just no pleasing some people. Anyway, time to put these new powers to the test." He then looked over to the open window. Hm, I woner if..." He shrugged his shoulders. "Meh, it's worth a shot..." He then proceeded to walk over to the window, and jumped out feet first.

Swamptaro's eyes widened with shock and fear at what he saw his trainer do. He knew humans couldn't fly on their own, and Tyler didn't have any flying Pokemon on him. He ran over to the window, and looked to see what happened. "MARSHTOMP?!"

As Tyler fell from the top of the building, he shut his eyes and concentrated. As he started to get closer to the ground, his falling speed started to slow down, eventually completely stopping. He opened his eyes, and saw himself still in the air, and floating a few inches above the ground. He breathed a sigh of relief. Next, by putting some effort into his legs, as if he were going to jump up, he started to rise upward, eventually reaching the window, and the Marshtomp looking out of it. "Surprise!"

This caused the startled Pokemon to scream again, and jump back. "MARSHTOMP!"

"Aw, sorry buddy. I didn't mean to scare ya. Ha, can you believe it?! I can fly. Of course, I knew I could." He lay down on his back while in midair, and put his hands behind his head in a relaxed pose. "Man, flying is totally awesome!" He then straightend up, and proceeded to fly around in circles to show off his newfound flying skills. He moved very quickly, and looked like a blur to those that could see, shouting out excitedly as he did, "WAHOOOOOO!"

Then he stopped, and flew back into the monument. "Aw man, you should totally try it sometime Swampy." He then returned the Pokemon to his Pokeball. "Now, let's kick some sepretist ass!" Tyler boasted before zooming out the window once again, making a WHOOSH noise as he took off.

"Well, first test, check!!" The tiny pokemon shrieked. She started flying around in circles but stopped suddenly, her big eyes horrified. She flew up to Sophia and whimpered, "Well, there should be a second test, but... some separatist creepies have kinda found us and are coming this way."

Sophia face-palmed. "Great. Now what?" she said, glaring at the small pokemon. Meloetta blushed. "Well, I'm going to transform myself into cosmic glitter. Er, sorry, cosmic dust, it's so shiny I call it glitter. Anyway. Breathe in some of the glitter-dust, then put your hands out in what's left. You'll gain some of my powers, and a physical... thingy too."

"Meloetta... that means I have to say goodbye to you, doesn't it?" Sophia said, looking down. Meloetta nodded solemnly, but smiled. "Don't worry," she said, her once vibrant colors becoming dull and opaque, "I'll always be here. With you. I'll never really leave you..." After that, she closed her eyes, and in a golden flash, glitter hung in the air. Sophia inhaled some on the dust and instantly felt lightheaded, and she heard melodic sounds echo around in her once quiet head. Sophia jerked is surprise, but soon held out her hand into the glittering remains of Meloetta. The glitter swirled, taking the shape of a sword. Suddenly, the glitter shone a brilliant silver, and when the light dissipated a sword with a steel blade and a silver hilt. Decorating the hilt were green and orange gems in the shape of music notes.

Sophia swung the sword around a little. Violin noises rang through the air. The sword itself seemed to be singing, the music note gems glowing occasionally. "Now that I have this thing, were should I put it?" she said, looking at the sword. Instantly, she felt something materialize on her back. A strap folded from her left shoulder to her right hip, and when she placed her hand on the object, she could only identify it as a sheath. She smiled and slid the sword into the sheath behind her, then looked at Zac and scratched his head.

When she looked up, the ghostly figures of Sue Cra and Meloetta stood before her. "Well done, Vassal of Meloetta," she said in her detached voice. "Now, continue." She faded out, leaving only Meloetta.

Miles couldn’t believe this. He had to do another test. He fell down onto his butt and looked at the giant bird. What on earth was she going to make him do this time? “Well yeah, I did. Ok. I am ready for whatever you have for me.” Ho-oh was a wise pokemon, so it probably was another strategy test.

“Very well. For your next test…..” and then she stopped. She looked to the rain that was pouring outside. It was like she was looking straight at something. “Hmm, I see.” Miles tilted his head while looking at the bird. She seemed distracted. After a few moments, she turned her focus back to
Miles. “We are short on time young vassal. Very short, and behind the others. It seems as if they have already mixed with them. We are one of the last ones. It seems we have no more test here. It will have to be on the battlefield.”

Miles stood back up. He was ecstatic that there would be no more test. But wait… “On the battlefield? This soon?”

“Yes,” said Ho-oh. “It seems as if our opponents have decided to make their first move. You must go meet with the others. It is up to you guys to put a stop to this. So now..”

“Wait!” shouted Miles. He had a really random question. “How come we have to stop them? If you guys are so powerful, couldn’t you stop them on your own?”

“That is a good question. We would not be powerful enough. Also, there are a few in our ranks who are unwilling to take sides, but you guys will be the strength to lead us. Take care, and watch yourself. Remember that I will always be with you.” With that, Ho-oh dissipated and turned into cosmic dust. A voice echoed, “Receive my power.”

The dust floated toward Miles who instantly inhaled it. Some of the remains when towards his opened left hand. It formed a lighter. This black match had a flareon emblem on its front. Other that this, it was as black as Jacob’s fur. Once it had finished materializing, Miles instinctly grasped it and looked at it. He admired it and felt the power going through his bones. He put it in his left pocket. After this, he took a look up to Lincoln, turned around, and left the building.

Sue Craw appeared before he left right beside him. “Well done Vassal oh Ho-oh. Now continue.” Then she was gone again.

The rain was still pouring hard. Miles and Jacob were trying their best to brave across the bridge heading towards land. There was no way any Separatist people would come for him here. Plus he needed to find the others before he was found. It was not like he knew what his powers did anyways. All the sudden, a big wave came about to knock him over when something strange happened. A wall activated between him and the wave, shielding him from almost death. Jacob looked at it in amazement too. “How in the world did I do that?”

Jacob responded with an “Um, Umbreon, Umbre.” That is when he began growling and focused. The wave brought onto the bridge some pokemon. It seemed as if they were looking for a fight. “Well, here is the test on the battlefield.”